Theatre Company

A girl with a camera returns home to a war zone. British/Iraqi Dina Mousawi brings her experience of that journey from Bradford to Baghdad to the stage to reveal radically different perspectives on a conflict that has dominated our headlines for the last 10 years.

This surprising and provocative theatrical event pulls you into the unpredictable world of occupied Iraq. Uncover family secrets, encounter resilient women, enjoy the western allure of war and relive Dina's childhood adoration of Saddam Hussein.

Written by Dina Mousawi and 3Fates company
Directed by Poonam Brah
Designed by Alice Malia
Video Projection Design by Eva Auster
Lighting design by Jules Deering
Performed by Dina Mousawi, Houda Echouafni, Rachel Hilton, Lara Sawalha, Kirsten Short, Alice Malia.
Audience Feedback: “An altogether new take on Iraq and its recent experience. Refreshing and innovative.”

Audience Feedback: “Beautifully balanced with wit / Compelling, well executed and powerful / Gripping and audience totally involved / Brilliant stories told with a mixture of tragedy, humour and passion/ I've been talking about Return with everyone I've met today. Thought provoking and original in delivery – genius!/ You captured the voices of Iraqi women with all the compassion that tempers their rage against the world / Excellent performance; personal, accessible and powerful / Full of visually stunning, insightful scenes / Hard hitting, moving, bittersweet, humorous, elegantly and cleverly woven stories of individuals - I could encounter RETURN again and again!”

To Close Your Eyes is to Travel 2012-2013 - developed in residence at Amherst College Massachussets. Performed at The Yard Theatre, London.

“Art is threatening to the political realm becuase it is proof that we can think for ourselves.” Meredith Monk

This project began during our residency at Amherst College Massachussets with an interactive installation in a bedroom. In the hometown of radical 19th Century poet Emily Dickinson, the installation pulled togther ideas from protest movements, poetry, the place of art, and social change. It offered viewers the chance to spend time alone in a contemplative space, with an emphasis on exploration and discovery.

Audience members arrive one by one to the old brick house at twilight, ascend the dark wooden staircase and enter a sparse corner bedroom with a white bed, lit candle, and quiet trees at the windows – evoking the feeling of entering the room Emily Dickinson spent most of her solitary life in. Although this is not a typical reconstruction of a historical space: The visitor is encouraged to sit on the bed and discover a tiny gallery – a tea tray of envelopes containing hidden drawings, jumbled thoughts, tiny performance spaces. Shut away behind the wardrobe door are rows of small blank papers: on their flipsides – thoughts, stories, anecdotes depicted as quick pencil sketches. It is impossible to see them all at once, viewing is restricted by the hand-held fan viewers might find on the back of the door, to reveal hidden narratives and contrasts.

Back in London, 3FATES begun working with performers and designers on the diverse material that inspired and made up the installation: facing the new challenge of creating a performance on stage directly from a visual artwork - a design-led process.

The River Project - 2014 - developed at Hightide and Richmix, London. Performed at Richmix.